Gary Anderson puzzled by ‘strange’ upgrade on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at the Austrian Grand Prix

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Gary Anderson finds it “strange” that Red Bull have introduced a longer bib support as part of an extensive upgrade package for the RB22 at the 2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix.

Red Bull have gone all-in on home soil by overhauling their car for Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar at the Austrian GP this weekend. Only Cadillac have introduced more upgrades at the Red Bull Ring than the Milton Keynes-based squad, with 10 and seven updates respectively.

Verstappen and Hadjar recently got the first part of Red Bull’s update package in Barcelona, when they had a new front wing. Red Bull have now gone further in Austria, with changes to the sidepods, engine cover, floor, rear suspension, rear corner, rear wing and exhaust made.

The upgrades did not immediately lead to results on Friday, as Verstappen and Hadjar raged about Red Bull’s driveability during FP2 in Austria. The Dutchman and Frenchman took issue with how the RB22 behaved under braking and also under acceleration, especially at Turn 3.

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Gary Anderson thinks Red Bull took the wrong approach with their bib support upgrade

Not all of Red Bull’s updates may have delivered as intended, either, as it appeared that they removed their version of the exhaust flap that Ferrari pioneered before FP3. Hadjar also had what seemed to be an older version of Red Bull’s floor with different edges on his car in FP3.

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But it was Red Bull’s decision to introduce a longer bib support that puzzled Anderson, as he feels they went the wrong way to try to improve the yaw consistency of the RB22. Yaw is the way that a car rotates between the direction of movement and the direction it is pointing.

“This package really starts with the floor keel,” Anderson has told The Race. “Switching from a short-chord independent support system at the front of that bib section to a full-length fairing is a little strange to me.

“It could be that Red Bull are trying to separate each side of the floor’s leading edge to allow each side of the underfloor to work independently.

“This could improve the consistency of the underfloor when the car is in yaw. But I would be going the other way, and work on the rear of the car to improve the yaw consistency.”

Red Bull ‘compromised’ the RB22’s airflow but their bargeboard update is ‘more powerful’

Red Bull’s bargeboard upgrade at the Austrian GP also caught Anderson’s eye, as they have made major modifications to the previous design for their home race. While Red Bull used to use four straight vanes, they have now modified the leading edge with a split at the bottom.

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Anderson believes Red Bull have compromised the efficiency of each part of the bargeboard by having three leading vanes followed by a variation of the four vanes previously used. But the sacrifice is worth it, as it creates a more powerful bargeboard for the rest of the airflow.

Anderson continued: “This style of bargeboard does not make the best use of the outwash potential, or the maximum control of the wheel wake turbulence that the more common vertical bargeboards combined with the horizontal components give you.

“The combination of both these concepts compromises them individually but is more powerful overall, generating improved flow structure going rearwards.”

It is clear that Red Bull still need more time to refine how their upgrades introduced at this weekend’s Austrian GP perform on track. What effect the updates have on the RB22’s pace at the coming rounds will also be telling for Verstappen’s future with Red Bull beyond 2026.

Red Bull’s upgrades in Austria are a last-ditch attempt to keep Verstappen by showing what they are able to produce in their quest to return to the front of the F1 grid. As things stand, Verstappen will have from August until October to use his release clause as he is seventh in the drivers’ standings and he only has to rank outside the top two come the summer break.